I am not new to elections. Many years ago, I was elected by fellow students as School Captain at the Ayr High School.

I was, at various times, elected to my towns' Chamber of Commerce, the Apex Club, and the Basketball Association and as President of the N Q Law Association.

In 1979, I was elected to the Ayr Shire Council and was then elected four times in all to the Council. In 1990, I was elected to the Senate - only one of the few northerners ever to become a Senator.

In the Howard Government, I was appointed as a Minister for 9 years and today, I am the longest serving member of the Australian Parliament - not bad for a boy from country North Queensland!

I have always lived in Ayr in regional Queensland and I still have the stamina, passion, commitment and experience to continue my work for you and Northern Australia.

Sadly, my Party have relegated me to Number 4 position on their How to Vote card below three Brisbane residents, so if voters vote above the line on the Senate Ballot paper, then I will not be elected, and the North will lose its only 'true blue' Northerner in the Australian Senate.

So, I am asking northerners to vote below the line on the Senate ballot paper (the large white one), putting a [1] next to my name and filling in another 11 boxes for the Senators you want, not the ones selected for you by the major political parties.

With your help, I look forward to continuing my work in the Australian Parliament highlighting the North.

Senator Ian Macdonald

Ayr

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The Heart Foundation Queensland welcomes Queensland Parliament passing the Health and Wellbeing Queensland Bill 2019, which will reduce the burden of chronic disease through a new health promotion agency.

The independent preventive health agency, which will be called Health and Wellbeing Queensland, will strengthen efforts to reduce risk factors for chronic disease and improve health outcomes for Indigenous people.

We know heart disease is our biggest killer.

We also know targeting the risk factors that cause coronary heart disease can help people to stay well and avoid a heart attack or stroke.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, unhealthy eating, overweight and obesity and physical inactivity.

A healthy economic future for Queensland will be shaped by the health and wellbeing of the population, especially keeping people productive in the workforce and community.

We look forward to working with this independent preventive health agency to deliver more preventive health measures and improve the health of all Queenslanders.

I welcome the Queensland Government's budget commitment of $33 million for 2019-20 to Health and Wellbeing Queensland.

With 30 per cent of the total state budget currently consumed by health expenditure, we need to do so much more than just treat disease - we need to prevent it.

Stephen Vines

Heart Foundation Queensland CEO